News
9 Indicted in 2018 Death of Ohio University Student
By: WOUB News Team
Posted on:
(UPDATE 12/2 3:22 p.m.) The final defendant in the case surrounding the death of an Ohio University student will stand trial in early February.
Joshua Thomas Androsac, 20, was arraigned in court Monday.
He is charged with five felonies, including involuntary manslaughter and two counts of trafficking harmful intoxicants.
Androsac pleaded not guilty on all counts.
The charges stem from the death of Collin Wiant, who died last year of asphyxiation caused by Nitrous Oxide ingestion during an alleged hazing incident.
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(UPDATE 11/22 6:25 p.m.) There is still one man without a scheduled arraignment that faces charges in the death of former OU student Collin Wiant.
Joshua Androsac, 21, of Lewis Center, Ohio, is the only one of nine defendants that has yet to appear in court. A warrant for his arrest was still active as of Friday afternoon.
Corbin Gustafson, a member of Ohio University’s former Sigma Pi Fraternity chapter was arraigned in Athens County Court.
He’s being charged with reckless homicide, as he allegedly purchased nitros oxide which led to Wiant’s death.
Gustafson also allegedly waited 10 minutes to call an ambulance once realizing Wiant was unresponsive, calling fraternity brothers beforehand.
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(UPDATE 11/21 6:10 p.m.) Three other men indicted on charges related to Collin Wiant’s death pleaded not guilty Thursday afternoon. Each was released on their own recognizance until the jury trial set for January 28, 2020. Zachary Herskovitz and Cullen McLaughlin appeared before Judge George P. McCarthy. Elijah Wahib stood before Judge Patrick J. Lang.
Zachary Herskovitz, 22, of Coraopolis, PA, is charged with permitting drug abuse, a felony of the fifth degree and hazing, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.
Cullen McLaughlin, 20, is facing two counts of trafficking LSD, which are fifth degree felonies.
The charges against Elijah Robert Wahib, 22, of Westlake, Ohio, include tampering with evidence, a third degree felony, permitting drug abuse, a fifth degree felony, hazing, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, assault, a first degree misdemeanor, obstructing justice, a felony of the fifth degree, and failure to comply with underage alcohol laws, an unspecified misdemeanor.
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(UPDATE 11/20 4:10 p.m.) Four men indicted on charges related to the death of Collin Wiant have pleaded not guilty, while others have been scheduled for arraignment hearings.
Stephan Lewis entered his pleas Tuesday before Magistrate Johnathan Perrin Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance. His trial has been scheduled for December 21.
James Wanke, the owner of Silver Serpent, LLC, appeared before Judge Patrick Lang Wednesday morning and plead not guilty. He was released on his own recognizance and his trial was scheduled for December 28.
Saxon Angell-Perez and Dominic Figliola also appeared before Judge Lang Wednesday and both plead not guilty. They were both released on their own recognizance. Angell-Perez’s trial is scheduled for January 28. Figliola’s trial is scheduled for January 30.
Zachary Herskovitz, Cullen McLaughlin and Elijah Wahib are scheduled to appear before Judge George McCarthy Thursday at 3 p.m. for arraignment.
Corbin Gustafson is scheduled to appear before Judge McCarthy Friday at 3 p.m. for arraignment.
Joshua Androsac did not have an arraignment scheduled at the time of publishing, according to the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office.
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ATHENS, Ohio — An Athens County Grand Jury has indicted nine people in relation to the death of Ohio University Student Collin Wiant.
Wiant died at 45 Mill Street in Athens, a house multiple members of the Sigma Pi Fraternity lived in and used for fraternity activities, on November 12, 2018.
A toxicology report showed the man died of asphyxiation caused by nitrous oxide ingestion.
Joshua Thomas Androsac, 20, of Lewis Center, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, two counts of trafficking in harmful intoxicants, trafficking in cocaine and permitting drug abuse. The charges are all considered felonies. He is also charged with misdemeanor hazing.
Saxon Angell-Perez, of Columbus, is charged with felony counts of trafficking in cocaine and permitting drug abuse. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of hazing
Dominic A. Figliola, of Athens, is charged with the felony counts of aggravated trafficking in drugs and permitting drug abuse. He is also charged with misdemeanor counts of hazing and failure to comply with underage alcohol laws.
Corbin Michael Gustafson, 22, is charged with felony reckless homicide.
Zachary Herskovitz, 22, of Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, is charged with felony permitting drug abuse and misdemeanor hazing.
Cullen Willi McLaughlin, 20, is charged with two counts of trafficking in LSD, which is a felony.
Elijah Robert Wahib, 22, of Westlake, is charged with felony counts of obstructing justice, tampering with evidence and permitting drug abuse. He is also accused of misdemeanor assault, failure to comply with underage alcohol laws and hazing.
Stephan Brent Lewis, 27, is charged with a felony count of trafficking in harmful intoxicants and a misdemeanor count of improperly dispensing or distributing nitrous oxide.
These people will appear before the Court of Common Pleas for arraignment.
James Dylan Wanke, 25, with Silver Serpent, LLC, is charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter, third-degree involuntary manslaughter, and two counts of trafficking in harmful intoxicants. These charges are all felonies. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of improperly dispensing or distributing nitrous oxide.
The involuntary manslaughter charge is related to Wanke’s business, Silver Serpent, selling nitrous oxide, according to Prosecutor Keller Blackburn.
Wanke is scheduled to appear before Judge Patrick Lang for arraignment Wednesday at 9:15 a.m.
Anyone who has not appeared, or made arrangements to appear, will have nationwide arrest warrants issued.
Blackburn’s office announced Tuesday that the indictments were the result of an investigation by the Athens Police Department, Major Crimes Unit and the prosecutor’s office into the events of alleged hazing activities by the fraternity.
Sigma Pi was expelled from Ohio University in April for “Hazing and Other Violations.”